Times
of India: Chandigarh: Friday, 22 August 2014.
Sifarish
(recommendation) by influential persons for favours to applicants, which was
earlier made discreetly, has now become part of official records, if one is to
believe the information secured under the RTI Act by an activist in Hoshiarpur.
The RTI query revealed that education department officials of the district have
started filling a separate column in which names of leaders recommending
transfers of employees are entered.
Information
procured under the RTI Act from district education officer (secondary) has
revealed that the office sent lists of teachers to be transferred to the
director public instructions (secondary) by mentioning names of elected
representatives or political leaders, who made such recommendations, in another
column. Interestingly, names of office-bearers of SAD or Youth Akali Dal, who
do not hold any public office, also figure in the lists.
Human
Empowerment League Punjab (HELP) general secretary Parvinder Singh Kitna had
sought information about proposals sent from DEO to DPI (Secondary). He also
sought information about transfers recommended by influential persons.
The lists
provided by DEO's office not only had names of teachers with details of their
current stations and where they want to be shifted to, but also carry names of
leaders in a separate column titled "vishesh kathan" (special
comment). Sources said same thing was happening in other districts too and such
records were being maintained in all offices of DEOs and recommending leaders'
names were being sent to the DPI (secondary).
Most frequent
name in these lists is that of jail minster Sohan Singh Thandal who was the
chief parliamentary secretary CPS) when he had put in "sifarish" for
transfers of teachers. Other elected representatives, include SAD MLA Surinder
Singh Bhullewal Rathan and BJP MLA Sukhjit Kaur Sahi. Along with these, names
of constituency in-charges or defeated leaders of SAD-BJP also figure. These
include Tikshan Sood, who is now adviser to chief minister who lost from
Mukerian and SAD leader Ravinder Singh Rasoolpur, who is constituency in-charge
of Tanda Urmur. CPS Pawan Tinu and SAD MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur's names are present
on the list of leaders who made recommendations. YAD district president
Sarabjot Singh Saabi and block president Harmit Singh Kaulpur are among the
influential persons who recommended transfers of teachers.
"It is
clear that there is so much interference in the transfers. It is not remaining
confined to elected representatives alone. Members of the ruling party, who do
not hold any public office, also enjoy influence in utter violation of law and
rules," said Kitna.
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